Staff composition of the PIRC

The Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC), like other police oversight bodies, employs a blend of staff drawn from police and non-police backgrounds. Currently, 60% of the PIRC's staff do not have previous experience as police officers while the remaining 40% do hold this experience.

There is a slightly higher proportion of former police officers within the Investigations department as it is recognised that a highly skilled team, familiar with undertaking serious and complex investigations, is required to deal with the significant nature of the work undertaken.

Those, such as former police officers, with expertise in dealing with situations such as deaths in custody, crime scene management, road traffic matters, firearms incidents and family liaison support bring a depth of experience and specialist skills to the investigations referred to the PIRC. Currently, 54% of staff within the Investigations Team previously served with one of the former eight Scottish legacy forces.

The remaining 46% of the Investigations Team comprises staff drawn from a variety of investigatory backgrounds, including recruits from the Fire and Rescue Service, the former UK Borders Agency, Trading Standards and the Armed Services.

From the outset, the PIRC has operated a scheme to train new recruits who have no previous investigatory experience. This has proved to be extremely successful, with three former trainees now working as established members of the Investigations Team. Four further recruits are currently on the programme and we hope to continue developing new recruits in this way.

Gender balance:

The gender balance amongst staff within the organisation is 56% male and 44% female.